Noise: Meet the 2013 RFT Music Nominees

The 2013 Riverfront Times Music Showcase is tomorrow! Think of it as St. Louis music's own official holiday, and consider this the season. Throughout May we at RFT Music have been working hard to make our cases for all 130 bands and artists nominated for an RFT Music Award this year in 26 categories.

Joseph Raglani's expertise as a sound manipulator is only matched by his ability to find himself in great company. When he gravitated toward the ambient side of the electronic spectrum he released music on Kranky Records, the Chicago label that notably launched the career of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. On his newest album, Real Colors Of The Physical World, Raglani stepped away from the soundscapes of an observant tourist and built his own universe of glitches and bleeps. Fittingly, Real Colors also found a new home on elite Austrian label Mego, putting Raglani in a league with laptop pioneers Christian Fennesz and Jim O'Rourke.-Ryan Wasoba

With Catholic Guilt, your ears take a gamble. Semi-composed and often improvised, the group grinds through new ideas, builds on found sounds and seldom stops to take a breath. The band's darkened drone incites regret and guilt, relaying a noisy dirge through drums and feedback. Catholic Guilt shares musical DNA with Bug Chaser and Escalade, and often includes members of Shaved Women as well. The band's twisted set burns slow with each piece as distinct as the next. Catholic Guilt offers a nihilistic take on free jazz, and it remains a singular force in the St. Louis experimental scene.-Joseph Hess

Starting each set with classy chords and lovely little riffs, the Corrgian Brothers sound innocent enough. Soon, though, the dual guitars compete for sound, amplifying blues-gone-wrong with jangly, metallic noise. The duo bites through River City rock with sharp teeth, eschewing any semblance of genre distinction. CB shows carry weight and decimate pointless retreads of classic rock and blues with frantic, desperate strumming as both members stumble around stage, gripping their frets with tight, twitching fingers. The Corrigan Brothers seek to grind out a yearning for happy days and spit on your expectations for classic-whatever with two guitars, two amps and not much else.-Joseph Hess